Friday, November 16, 2007

Proof or rarity

In the denial of my humble & strict parking practices, I have today came to a situation where my patience ran out too quick in waiting for a proper parking lot to clear up. So just parked at the roadside (yellow lines, L&G), where I later discover that I have just been booked for it.
And if there is any proof that the car is not as mass produced as any other models of PROTON (please, put aside Tiara & Juara), this is the proof or our rarity. This model, readers, was never produced even 2nd unit of it.


It's one of the best feelings I get towards end of 2007. Smiling. Like a madman.

Touch-ups

The other day I had a minor accident, cause noticable dent on the front hood. The grill brackets are also broken, so it also had to be replaced. So decided to go for repairs & new grille, and was quoted a price. Since changing colours wouldn't affect the amount, I had it go with black, for bits of personalization & customization of my liking. Not bad eh?




Monday, October 8, 2007

The 2Gs

Last Friday I took day off to rectify some minors of after-repairs. Before that I had the front grille masked a night before so that I can happily spray flat-black on it in the morning...
So how was the process?

Figure 1 : Grille Masked lazily using masking tape cap ayam

Figure 2 : Painted with Flat Black alternated with Clear coat; total 4 layers.

Figure 3 : Masked removed & let dry for around 30 minutes

Figure 4 : Emblem reassembled.

Figure 5 : Just nize.

To fill up from saving daytime I came up with aerosol-painting (again) the GTI gear console & previous gear knob which had the mounting screw cover stucked. Had that opened by machine shop for RM5.

Figure 6 : Center console boot holder (or what is it called?)

Figure 7 : Gearknob, original colour

Figure 8 : Painted 2 layer, Candy Brown alternate Clear coat


So the day was filled with fixing & painting... plain thirsty. Yeehaw!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Arnold: I'll be bark (back)

It's back. Just that simple. With some minors that needs attention.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Re-strut-turing

Last weekend I had a fair share of free time given total off: 2 days from work. To beautify the strut bar I bought not long ago (and to compliment the new enginebay, sorta); I took the idea that came from 5z to get it painted with Titanium Grey. But heck, 1 colour would bore too, right?
Hit the hardware shop & got me 2 instead: Titanium Grey & Candy Brown



Just though a darker scent will help, so flat black & clear coat for the finishing :p

Friday, September 21, 2007

Restoration Works pt 3

Engine is in!!!
Yes, it's on test run, but not tested on roads yet. Hahah. So happy to see 4G93P back & some are new in the engine bay. Dashboard also have been mounted but without the gadgets, so far.

New radiator, alternator, clutch housing, hoses & pipes for ABS pump has been added, as previously it was taken out. Yee haw!


Below is the clutch housing that has leaked due to breakage. Has to be replaced. Anyone's up for the gears?

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Restoration Works pt 2

After another week in the workshop, the internal bodywork has been sealed with some sort of primer to smoothen out the surface & engine bay was painted. Now the wirings are sorted back on to the chassis before they can drop in the engine. Engine was still laying on the ground with no works though :(

As for the external fender & hood, it will be painted after the engine is installed into the engine bay to prevent unwanted scratches to the bodywork.

Closer look, so far job looks pretty good. Just hoping all same after the drop-in. What engine is coming in, I wonder? LOL

The new suspension still use the old swaybar, which I had doubts to begin with. But guess it'll be OK.

Cabin wires are all over the place... I am yet to familiar. Never will, probably. So maybe I'll wait out another week before getting the car... Can hardly wait now that I see everything is almost in order.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Restoration works

After 2 weeks of processing the claim & getting the approval, the car made it to the repair bay & it has been a week there now.

Chassis was fixed, where new hood assembled, both side wheel houses & fenders were replaced up to the radiator grille & front bumper. The front lips are yet to be assembled.

The new wheel house was welded and now waiting to be cemented to smoothen the surface.

The drive train support: Cross member & center member. As a comparison, below is the shot of the damaged crossmember:


The engine is however still in the fix. Will update later on when I go to the workshop again next week.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

The miraculous Sunday drift

Last Sunday I was on my way to my third wedding invitation, venue was Kg Malaysia. It was around 3.36pm as I drove from Sg Besi turning to a right U-turn to Besraya, the car skidded and started to drift. It was unstoppable & the attempt to counter was in vain when the tail swings quickly, the car went straight to the side road dividers (6th image)...



The car was sort of jumping at 1 point, and returned to the road while slamming the underneath, resulting on a broken gearbox. The car strayed on the leftside of the road before I halted it with the handbrake. Blur, I looked to the side mirrors for oncoming cars & went out to check the damage. Bad.
GB oil was flowing down, bumpers, fenders, hood out of place. Cross member was also bent badly (2nd image). Surely, there's lot more to consider.

Thank God, I'm still intact.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

The LCP

I have managed to install the lightweight crank pulley, so how does it looks? Below shows the difference of looks between old crank pulley with the new.

Stock crank pulley which weights around 2-3 kilos, made of steel. Due to duration of usage, there was some chips on the edges.

Lightweight crank pulley, made of T7 Aluminium weighs around < 1 kg

Results? The acceleration was slightly faster, due to lighter force applied & torquey feeling was there. No rigorous tests done, though. :P

Friday, August 3, 2007

Minor-minor mod

Haha just to say that I'm happy that I've received my LCP for RM280 yesterday from my collegue. I haven't weigh it yet so I can't say the difference. Anyway what I'm expecting is slight increase of torque & horsey. Since I haven't mod the intake & exhaust extensively, I'd figure out this might be good for a quicker RPM climb....


Another stuff I just got is a transparent Cam cover (RM50), just to keep it bit ricey in the engine bay along with the fancy coloured crank pulley later on.



I will update further when things gets installed.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Air-conditioning fix

Lately the I haven't done any major upgrade or pimping, so what I'd like to share today is just air-conditioning service. A fan motor on the radiator has died, but somehow does not displayed any weird symptoms and the air-conditioning still performs.
Anyway for the sake of aging I just had the service, they cleaned up the compressor, blower & condenser all in 1 go, and replaced the malfunctioning fan motor. Cost me RM100 & RM170, respectively.
Pics below shows some part of the d/board has been disassembled in order to get things done. Apologies for the quality pics.

P/S: I was just informed that I have been conned. The fan motor is only RM45!! Fudge!!


Monday, May 21, 2007

Images of breakdown

As blogged earlier here I present a pics of the old fuel filter:


As recommended actually the fuel filter is to be replaced at 60,000 kms (if not mistaken), cost around RM18. Recently the fuel pump also died in my attempt to start the car going back to my friend's factory, after taken out so here's the malfunctioning fuel pump looks like:


The pump looks great, eh? It's unbelievable that its malfunctioning while looking so good & new. Cost around RM140 but the other day I was conned to the amount of RM250 for the whole job. Nevertheless the work done was good, no extra problems found on ignition & sprinting other than a broken bracket for my rear seat. Argh!! (thank god it has no noise)
And...what else? I've been worrying for quite sometime about the cracks on my bumper, and the gaps I saw through easy detailing on the car:
As I haven't got time to go fiber shop & have the bodywork done, I think I'll just skip it for laters until I get the audio unit working. Lately it has been acting weird, like shutting the sound from hard driving. Suspect the wiring, or even the HU which is not a convenient aspect. As long as the 4G work its magic from a throttle, I'm smiling.
Anyway just 2 days ago the car had a blackout due to shot-circuit of the battery point with the front hood, causing the battery 'kong' (discharged excessively) hence I had to recharge it by jump-starting with another battery. As I was wondering whether the fuse did blow up & who's going to help me, a club member stroll by the scene as he parked his Putra at the very parking space my car stalled (unbelievable!!).
So I was saved from starving & walking some kilos & managed to COD with a forum member later on & go for basketball....

Fuhh... Thank god.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Engine not starting

Few days back I was taking my time browsing some half-cut shops in USJ with 2 friends, as we attempt to go back to his factory, my car couldn't be started. Seems the ignition is working however there was no response on any ignition, even after hard pedal press.
So suspect that the fuel wasn't pumping in to the throttle body. Darn it, workshop had to be found. Thank god I have my friends with me, we pushed the car around 600 meters to the workshop (half-cut areas sure got few workshops!) and luckily the workshop still not closed (almost 7 o'clock) !
After simple diag of changing relay seems does not solve the problem, afterwards the car had to be left at the workshop with me digging my friends backseat, tired. Main suspect was the fuel pump, which had to be replaced with a used one that cost me almost RM200. New ones could be around RM300-Rm500, according to the mech-assistant... I wouldn't know.
After all that, Remp-IT was on again to make sure the pump works as it supposed to and results are no downing.

Yeah... also cost me an Emergency Leave.
Boss, forgive me.

Friday, May 11, 2007

La³ new radio

As of today my headunit has already been changed few days back from the SONY Xplod (Jap unit) to stock Waja Campro's Clarion. The sockets match but some additional wiring was accustomed by the bro who did the wiring. Brothers Puchong is where I found the HU, initially sat under a stock VIOS HU. After failed to bargain with the lady shopkeeper, decided this is the one to go with and the wiremen took out the Sony HU where my friend Buyau who was accompanying me drastically bought it from me! Yay!

Below was the conversation held between me (Me) with the shopkeeper (LS):

Me: Eh, this waja hu how much?
LS: RM250.
Me: What? (Good price) Can't give discount?
LS: Cannot, ini sudah murah.
Me: 230 ringgitlah, kasihan saya lor...
LS: Cannot, ini sudah murah...
Me: Come on, you're ma prennn....
LS: Tak boleh laa...tarak untung punya...
Me: Ok, ok. Rm250 siap pasang haa?
LS: Yup, siap pasang.

The HU is capable of using bluetooth, but sadly I have yet to learn how to activate or utilise this feature. MP3 using CD is so much cooler then using modulator man....
Have to say Xplod's bass was a bit better, but sound quality has not been compromised much. Rather than finding a booster, worth my buck changing since I have the HU features I needed, and ready for minor upgrade.

Friday, April 6, 2007

Some stuff to let go

Hi guys,

Letting go unused stuff, and also some extras:

Alternator / Compressor belt 4PK760 (click for pics) -- RM 11
Alarm Speaker & Relay only (click for pic) -- RM30
Dashboard panel (click for pic) -- RM18 for double din HU only!

Pls email me for inquiries and dealing.
Can COD anywhere possible in KL / PJ.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

The not so new Putra

Just about 2 months ago I got my Proton Putra after a hectic process of getting the loan approved, PUSPAKOM checks & insurance issues done... hahaha so happy got my own ride.
Apart from having my Putra after about 7 years of dreaming, there's quite some plan I have in mind & currently the car has undergo few maintenance works, performing great despite some minor squeaks here & there.

Specs:
Year made: 2000
Mivec1 full bodykit with mivec foglights (don't have switch, though)
Evo1 spoiler
Rota Battle imitation 15 inch

Interior:
Lost a Pioneer headunit & equalizer to robbers, got Sony Xplod cikai replaced
MOMO GSR steering wheel (4 spoke)
SGTI Gear console & gearknob
MP3 Modulator w/ remote (cool item, saves my money for CDs)
Everything else? Standard except for the Barney I hang from the rearview mirror

Some updates on maintenance done:
1. oil change to Castrol MAGNATEC 10W-40 [RM75]
2. spark plugs changed from BKR6EGP (old) to BKR5EGP for [RM35]
3. replaced compressor belt 4PK770 [RM25]
4. replaced alternator belt 4PK760 [RM18]
5. replaced uprated plug cables to stock Mitsubishi (got from halfcut) [Rm50]
6. replaced front bushings, changed springs from potong to cap ayam lowering sport springs (freakin stiff) [RM36, RM183]
7. changed front tyres to Bridgestone MY-01 (Techno replacement model), re-align &amp;amp;amp; camber [RM165 x2, RM12]
8. H1 & low light bulbs [RM8 x2, RM2]

Others:
1. Passanger door window tints (Titanium Elite by Solar Gard) [RM100] due to robbery of my previous headunit, they broke the window, shiats

Alrighty, later I'll post some pics!